Michael's On East Restaurant Review

: Co-proprietors Michael Klauber and Philip Mancini have done just about everything right, so much so that Michael’s on East has become a looming figure on Sarasota’s downtown culinary landscape---its shadow especially impressive in length because this outpost of gastronomic hip is a bit removed from downtown. Deeply into its second decade, Michael’s is the flagship restaurant, launching a successful local catering business, an attached lounge-music-and-hors d’oeuvres spot called EastSide, and Michael’s Wine Cellar in Midtown Plaza. The cuisine is hard to pin down, maybe cerebral contemporary Continental, if that’s not oxymoronic. Dinnertime dishes may include espresso-encrusted yellowfin tuna and braised Kobe boneless short ribs. Finish the meal with Key lime tart or classic strawberry shortcake.